Royal Oak school putting parents on bully patrol

ROYAL OAK — All schools deal with bullying; many are taking steps to prevent it by involving parents.

Royal Oak Middle School will be among them. Parents mark your calendars for 6:30 p.m. Feb. 11.

The school is adopting the Olweus BullyingPrevention Program, which is a research-based, change-the-system approach used with positive results in schools around the world.

The program is not a curriculum limited to students for a brief time. It is a coordinated effort by all the adults in the school and the community to supervise and intervene when bullyinghappens.

Advertisement

As part of the program, students will participate in weekly class meetings to learn about the effects of bullying, what they can do about it, and how they canwork with adults at school and at home to put a stop to it.

Adults will learn their role at a “parents only” workshop scheduled from 6:30-8 p.m. Feb. 11. In addition, Marlene Seltzer from Beaumont Hospital’s NoBullying Live Empowered (NOBLE) will speak about additional supportavailable for bullying victims, witnesses, perpetrators, and families.

ROMS Principal Zoe Marcussaid implementing the program will take a long-term commitment from its partners young and old but in the end school will be a better experience for everyone.

“This type ofapproach is about changing the whole school climate to make it a safer, morepositive place to learn,” she said. “One change that many schools have noticed afterusing this program for a year or two is that students actually like schoolbetter. It makes sense. It’s hard to learn if you’re afraid or if other studentsare mean to you.”

For more information about the program or ways to become involved,contact Kathy Knapp, at Knappk@royaloakschools.com.